Protest
in support of the workers and unions of Wisconsin
26 Feb 11
Very interesting commentary on our local paper and this action from a
buddy of mine:
While it is heartening to see Dick
Polman's attention to the labor
movement in Wisconsin (
American
Debate,
2/27), it was disconcerting that the gathering of over a
thousand people in Love Park this Saturday, 2/26, only blocks away from
the Inquirer clock-tower, got no coverage whatsoever. With participants
from Bethlehem, Allentown, Camden, Princeton and elsewhere -- to join
concerned Philadelphians and suburbanites in support of labor's right
to negotiate -- one would think that the story merited a mention in
Local News, if not a prominent place alongside the Front Section
Wisconsin coverage. Perhaps a description of cars honking at 15th and
Arch to support demonstrators singing to the traffic might have been
appropriate. Perhaps some notes on Rabbi Waskow's Sabbath sermon, or
the labor anecdotes of leaders and rank-and-file membership, would have
added local color to a national issue of critical import. Three network
news teams recorded small spots for their evening and nightly news.
Somehow, a smaller Tea-Party gathering got prominent coverage on the
Inquirer front page. Polman wonders why labor is on the ropes. Perhaps
labor could catch a break from its local paper of record.
Of course, the protesters who are supporting the workers and unions of
Wisconsin had to compete with the very,
very, terribly important second anniversary of that astro-turf,
billionaire-funded group, the Tea Party. Which, well, y'know makes
sense, because what's a real
demonstration concerning real
issues of concern to real
people compared to one that features TeeVee coverage from Fox News,
where very loud people dress up in tri-corner hats and which puts out
formal press releases?
BTW, temperatures dropped on the night of this protest, but attendance
in Madison, WI was up
to about 100,000 people.
So remember back in October of last year when the British decided to
take a hack, slash and burn approach to their budget? David Broder
noticed at the time and he thought their idea was wonderful.
He hailed it as a deliberate
move away from Keynesian economics.
How's that move workin' out for y'all? Er,
well,
um, not
well at all, actually. As the economist Dean Baker
explained early this month “As predicted, this looks very much like
a path to pain and stagnation, not healthy growth.” So why American
Governors want
to repeat the British approach isn't clear at all.
BTW, MoveOn advised its members that red and white were Wisconsin
colors, which is why red is so dominant in these pictures. Very
interesting view from
the other side of the aisle is that public-employee unions reduced
the expected GOP gain in statehouses for the 2010 election from 20 down
to 12. Naturally, Republicans were unhappy about this.
"We are never going to win most of these
states until we can do something about those unions," one key operative
said at a Washington dinner in November. "They have so much incentive
to work hard politically because they are, in effect, electing their
own bosses -- the Democrats who are going to pay them better and give
them more benefits. And the Democrats have the incentive to be
generous."
This is how top Republicans see the
matter: a vicious cycle of union-to-Democrat-to-union power that they
are determined to break.
Problem: What
happens if Republicans break the union-Democratic party alliance?
The Kochs are longtime libertarians who
believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal
social services for the needy, and much less oversight of
industry—especially environmental regulation.
And
gee, wow, amazingly enough, surprise, surprise...
These views dovetail with the brothers’
corporate interests.
[...]
Charles Lewis, the founder of the Center for Public Integrity, a
nonpartisan watchdog group, said, “The Kochs are on a whole different
level. There’s no one else who has spent this much money. The sheer
dimension of it is what sets them apart. They have a pattern of
lawbreaking, political manipulation, and obfuscation. I’ve been in
Washington since Watergate, and I’ve never seen anything like it. They
are the Standard Oil of our times.”
That's Rabbi Arthur Waskow giving our gathering a blessing.
And the agenda of the Republican Party in Wisconsin is
nothing
to laugh at. This is true, full-scale class warfare.
The police in the Wisconsin State Capital
were
supposed to have cleared out the building by 4:00pm today. The
Capitol Police Chief
decided
to let them stay. Snow fell throughout the day, but
an estimated
125,000 protesters were in Madison and thousands more rallied
across the state.
The wman holding tbe bullhorn was the chief MoveOn speaker who
introduced everyone.
This
page from MoveOn features scenes from all 50 states (Warning: it
takes a
long time to load).
And yes, we let the passing cares know that we were there! We got lot
and lots and lots of honks in solidarity.